Weekly Cinemeh

Hey, two weeks in a row! We haven;t done a theme for these past couple of weeks, but we will probably start something more like that in the future.

Chinatown: This was my first Roman Polanski film, although I didn't know that until the credits rolled. I can easily see why so many people liked him as a director. If it weren't for the pedophilia I would probably rush out to see more of his stuff. The cinematography was what stood out the most to me, I have never seen anything quite like it. Nicholson is fantastic as the noir protagonist, sarcastic and driven, with a lot of darkness under the surface. This movie is a great example of modern noir, and is a must see for anyone who is a fan.

Eshi: I have weird feelings about this movie, the cinematography was intriguing and the story was compelling. Unfortunately, I feel like Jack Nicholson kinda carried the movie. There was a lot of woodenness in the acting and it broke immersion for me. Still, definitely see it.

The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy: If you love high fantasy and have nine hours (or three nights with three hours) to spare it is well worth the watch. They are fun and unlike the shitty Hobbit movies these are fairly good at representing the source material, though they still leave a bunch out you can understand why. Watching these films it is easy to see that Peter Jackson really loved the books, which makes The Hobbit trilogy all the more disappointing. On that note though, why is it always the case that fantasy movies have shitty dialogue? Not all the time, but a lot of the time. I get that they don't want people to talk with modern vernacular because it would be out of place, but that doesn't mean that all people in fantasy worlds should always talk in frilly verse. LotR is better than most but there are some cringe worthy lines, particularly from Legolas and Aragorn.

Eshi: There are entirely too few serious attempts at high fantasy in film, a shit ton of children's and YA fantasy sure, but its apparently hard to sell adults on wizards and shit. Lord of the Rings is a great demonstration of how ill-advised that mentality is, fucking everybody loves fantasy, most people just don't like to admit it. As a movie geek, I love LotR, its rich and immersive and deeply fucking moving. As a fan of Tolkien's massive, possibly overdeveloped, universe however, The movies leave some holes that (as I've mentioned recently) I have a hard time overlooking. That said I was still really excited to rewatch these.

Mr. Bean's Holiday: Just a fun movie. Mr.Bean, if you have never seen it, is a walking disaster, and he either has the worst luck in the world, or the best. If you are a fan of the TV show, you will like this movie. If you haven't seen the TV show, you should. Neither are meant to be taken seriously, and while not his best work in my opinion, shows off Rowan Atkinson physical comedy side very well.

Eshi: I have a soft spot in my heart for Rowan Atkinson, as one of the only other people to approach the divinity of Our Lord the Tall John Cleese. I love Bean, I love Black Adder, Atkinson is irreverent and delightful. Also, this movie is vastly superior to the American attempt, and just on that deserves a watch.

Honorable Mention- The Venture Brothers season 6 opening special.
The Venture Bros. is one of the best, if not the best, examples of how to build a world. Jackson Publick(aka Christopher McCulloch) and Doc Hammer are amazing writers and have created an amazing mythology that surrounds the show. Its witty, exciting, and has a ton of great characters. The season six opener was a great example of all of those qualities. If you have not seen the TV show, watch it! Its great.

Eshi:  The Venture Brother's is the most masterful show on T.V. in decades. Its not particularly serious, its probably not for everyone even. I'm positive some people don't like this show. Those people are wrong. Watch this show from the beginning till you're current, then watch it again. If you don't like it try again until you get it right. If you do not love this show, make no mistake, the flaw is in you.